BBC chairman Richard Sharp ‘breached rules over Boris Johnson loan’

BBC chairman Richard Sharp ‘breached rules over Boris Johnson loan’

Postby dutchman » Fri Apr 28, 2023 4:47 am

Former banker expected to come under intense pressure to quit as report set to find that he broke the code on public appointments

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The chairman of the BBC breached the rules in failing to declare his involvement in an £800,000 loan to Boris Johnson prior to his appointment, an official investigation has concluded.

Richard Sharp will come under intense pressure to quit as head of the corporation following Friday’s expected publication of the findings of the two-month long inquiry.

The report by Adam Heppinstall KC has found that Mr Sharp broke the code on public appointments by failing to inform the committee that interviewed him.

Mr Sharp helped put Sam Blyth, a distant relative of Mr Johnson’s, in touch with Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, because Mr Blyth wanted to provide the then prime minister with the loan facility.

Mr Sharp believed at the time that, having flagged the issue of his BBC application with Mr Case, he did not need to declare it to the appointment panel.

The Telegraph understands that the inquiry has found Mr Sharp’s breach created a perception of a conflict of interest.

Mr Sharp, 67, a former Goldman Sachs banker, will inevitably be forced to consider his position but is reluctant to resign, it is understood.

If Mr Sharp refuses to quit, Rishi Sunak will have to decide his fate - presenting the Prime Minister with a second major dilemma, just a week after Dominic Raab was forced to resign following an inquiry into alleged bullying.

Allies of Mr Sharp have suggested he could survive because they believe that the inquiry scotches any suggestion that he was appointed BBC chairman as a consequence of the facilitation of the loan deal.

He has argued that he had no involvement in the arrangement of the loan guarantee to Mr Johnson and did not act in “bad faith” in failing to declare the approach made to him by a businessman wanting to ease Mr Johnson’s then financial difficulties.

But Mr Heppinstall has judged Mr Sharp’s omission was a technical breach, which the BBC chairman has now conceded. The senior barrister, it is understood, has accepted Mr Sharp’s version of events.

It is unclear if the chairman can survive calls for his resignation but insists that if he does have to leave the BBC, he will do so with his reputation at least partially restored by Mr Heppinstall's conclusions.

Mr Sunak will be reluctant to act, because the pair remain close friends.

Mr Sharp was for a period Mr Sunak’s boss at Goldman Sachs and was drafted into Number 11 Downing Street by the then chancellor to work on the Treasury’s response to the Covid crisis.

The Labour Party may not wish to demand Mr Sharp’s resignation, because that would give Mr Sunak the chance to pick another BBC chairman on a four-year contract.

Mr Sharp’s term of office runs out in February 2025, by which time Sir Keir Starmer could be prime minister.

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Re: BBC chairman Richard Sharp ‘breached rules over Boris Johnson loan’

Postby dutchman » Fri Apr 28, 2023 12:22 pm

BBC chairman resigns over report into appointment

BBC chairman Richard Sharp has resigned after a report found he did not disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest during his appointment.

It looked at whether he was transparent about his role in the facilitation of a loan to Boris Johnson.

Mr Sharp apologised, saying he did not want to be a distraction for the BBC.

The chairman, who was appointed by the then prime minister, has been under pressure to quit since claims about his involvement emerged in January.

They prompted an investigation led by barrister Adam Heppinstall which was published on Friday.

The report found that he had failed to disclose two potential perceived conflicts of interest: first, by telling Mr Johnson he wanted to apply for the BBC role before doing so; and second, by telling the PM he intended to set up a meeting between Mr Blyth and Mr Case.

It notes that Mr Sharp does not accept the first conclusion, but he has apologised for the second.

Mr Sharp called the breach of public appointment rules "inadvertent and not material".

He has previously accepted that he arranged a meeting between the country's most senior civil servant, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, and Sam Blyth, a distant cousin of Mr Johnson who had offered to provide financial assistance to the then PM in late 2020.

At the time of that meeting, Mr Sharp, an ex-investment banker and Conservative Party donor, had already applied for the senior BBC job.

The investigation was set up by the Commissioner of Public Appointments to investigate claims which first appeared in the Sunday Times.

The report found "there is a risk of a perception that Mr Sharp was recommended for appointment" because he sought to assist the PM in a private financial matter "and/or that he influenced the former Prime Minister to recommend him by informing him of his application before he submitted it".

The report did not make a judgement "on whether Mr Sharp had any intention of seeking to influence the former Prime Minister in this manner".

:bbc_news:
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Re: BBC chairman Richard Sharp ‘breached rules over Boris Johnson loan’

Postby rebbonk » Fri Apr 28, 2023 7:50 pm

The curse of the untrustworthy Johnson continues!
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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